Pages

Monday, November 19, 2012

Should you upgrade your appliances? An energy metre can help you decide

For years now I
have wondered if it’s time to update our appliances. They were in the house
when we bought it ten years ago and work well, but after reading about
efficiency gains in many appliances over the years, I was curious about whether
or not it would be worth our while (and our carbon footprint) to buy new.

The energy savings
stats sounded good but there was always the nagging question: is it really more
eco-friendly to toss our current fridge, stove and chest freezer and replace
them with new, when they’re working perfectly well?

I got my answer
this week.

Using an
inexpensive energy meter ($22 at Canadian Tire), a simple device that measures
the energy consumption of appliances, I measured the energy consumption of our
chest freezer and fridge and came up with some pretty convincing numbers. (I
wasn’t able to measure our range so researched that separately).

This is what I
discovered: Our fridge uses about 2100 KWH of energy each year, which equates
to $207. It sounded reasonable enough until I researched new refrigerators and
discovered that many use in the rage of 370 KWH to 550 kwh of energy per year.
That’s one quarter, or less, of the power in a year. I discovered that a new
freezer could easily use just 20% of the power of our current freezer and a new
range about 40% less.

Discovering that
we’re using five-times more energy than necessary was a shock considering our
goal has always been to use considerably less energy than your average
household.

Suffice to say, if
you want new appliances, doing an energy comparison can help you build your
case, especially if your appliances are 10 years or older. But not all new
appliances are created equal and many use way more energy than they really need
to. If you’re buying new choose appliances with the lowest EnerGuide rating and
take advantage of in-store rating systems like Home Depot’s Eco Options rating.

Whether your
appliances are new or old, ensure that you’re using them as efficiently as
possible.

For your range:

·Only pre-heat for baking. Most
other food can go right in while the oven comes to temperature. During cooking
open the door as little as possible since at least 20 percent of the heat is
lost each time the door is opened.

·Match pots to the size of the
cooking element and use lids on pots to contain the heat.

·Make sure the oven door seals
are clean and tight. (They should hold a slip of paper snugly.)

·Lower the heat! A fast boil is
no hotter than a gentle boil so once boiling starts turn down the heat.

For your refrigerator:

·Clean the condenser coils
regularly so air can circulate.

·Don’t hold the door open
longer than necessary.

·Don’t place warm food or
containers in the refrigerator (wait until they cool).

1 comment:

Handheld Cheap Taps (with hoses) have becomes extremely popular. These can either be Cheap Taps UK like a standard showerhead or be pulled down and directed by hand. LED Taps : Factors to Consider Before Buying Kitchen Taps come with enhanced functionalities, including adjustable spray from a Bathroom Accessory fine needle spray. These come in innumerable designs and add elegance to any Waterfall Taps. Certain factors that one should consider before purchasing a Antique Taps are:

-Keep a jug of drinking water in the fridge instead of letting the tap run for a glass of cold water.

-Let Mother Nature wash your car & water your lawn.

-Or, set up a rain barrel to collect rainwater.

Tips: safe (and unsafe) uses for plastics

·Don’t heat food in plastic containers. Chemical leaching is intensified when the plastic is heated.·Avoid plastic wrap. NEVER use it in the microwave. (Use a lid or a dish towel).·Any plastics used for food should be #1, #2, #5.·Don’t put food or drink in any containers marked #7.·Rid your house of soft plastic bath toys and vinyl shower curtains.·Choose alternatives to plastics (glass, stainless steel, fabric)

Tips: cellphone safety

-Buy a low-radiation phone. Look up your phone, or search for a new phone, in this handy guide. (Check under your battery for the model number.)

-Use a headset or speaker. A headset emits much less radiation than your phone and using speaker phone mode keeps that radiation away from your head.

-Less radiation is emitted when you're texting compared to talking, and texting keeps the radiation away from your head.

-Stay off the phone if you don’t have a strong signal. Your phone will emit even more radiation when it’s working hard to get the signal to the tower.

Tips: Steer clear of bottled water

Fill water bottles at home before you head out on a road trip. Even if you’re just out and about for the afternoon.Make sure you have enough bottles for everyone in your family (and maybe a couple of extras).Bring an empty bottle with you when you travel. Fill it from the bathroom tap in your hotel room (so you’re not buying the expensive bottle of water in the room and can steer clear of plastic.)Buy a carbon filter for your kitchen tap if you don’t like the taste of your tap water. Or buy a filter jug to keep in your fridge.At restaurants ask for tap water if they offer bottled water.

Great guide to whole food cooking

It's about attitude and ingredients: a healthy measure of each will have you enjoying food the way it should be.

The reel mower: everything old is new again

This great non-polluting mower doubles as an exercise machine (just ask my husband). It's so quiet you can mow your lawn at 7 am on a Sunday and your neighbours won't hear a thing. It's easy to sharpen and is a light as a feather compared to your grandfather's version.

Great green links

About Me

I'm a green-living columnist & blogger, a food columnist & blogger & a mom of 2 kids. I'm a fan of stoneground flour, lentils and all things vegetable. As a volunteer thing I run a whole food buying group through Speerville Flour Mill which means every three months 800 pounds of organic dry goods lands in my living room. I teach cooking classes to middle school kids and am the marketing manager/recipe developed for Crosby Molasses.